


i’ll be home with you

by cinnamonstickrayofsunlight



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Sleepover Fic, baking together, greek!kate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27643475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnamonstickrayofsunlight/pseuds/cinnamonstickrayofsunlight
Summary: a sleepover fic!
Relationships: Kate/Eva Sanchez (We Are The Tigers)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is part one of my sleepover fic!! there will be two parts: one for kate’s house and one for eva’s!!
> 
> cw for something i can best describe as a panic attack? it’s not exactly a panic attack but it happens to me and i project onto kate, so if that’s triggering to you it starts when she spills powdered sugar, and is over in four paragraphs!

eva called kate from the car. she waited for a while, and then the other girl finally picked up.

“hey? what’s up?” kate asked.

“i’m in your neighborhood, but i have no idea which house is yours. what does it look like?” eva responded.

“wait one second,” kate said, and then she hung up. after a few more minutes of driving around, eva spotted a figure standing in the driveway of one of the huge houses, waving. she drove into the cul-de-sac and stopped in front of her girlfriend.

kate walked to the window on the driver’s side of the car, and eva rolled it down. kate smiled, “hi.” eva started laughing, and kate laughed too. 

“c’mon,” kate said, and she opened the car door. eva turned to grab her bag and set it on her lap as she unbuckled her seat belt. kate took the bag, and dragged eva out of the car by her hand.

“i’m taking your bag in like a real host, and i’m taking you inside,” she said. eva was soon inside kate’s house. they stopped, and eva took a moment to register the true size of this house, it was enormous, and probably the largest house she’d ever been in.

“holy shit. my entire house could fit on your first floor,” eva exclaimed. kate made a worried face, and eva squeezed her hand. 

“it’s really not that big of a deal,” eva said, “i’m just glad we can do this together. i’m proud of you for doing this.” and kate pulled her in for a hug.

kate spoke into her ear, “you’re so nice. like all of the time. i’m literally dating the perfect person,” and eva laughed from the crook of her neck.

“you’re way too sweet,” eva said softly, “love you,”

kate leaned back, “love you too,”

“shouldn’t we go somewhere?” eva asked, “i love hugging you, but can we do it in a place that’s less awkward?”

this caused laughter from kate, and soon her girlfriend joined in. then, eva was brought up the giant staircase, down the hall, and around a corner, into a giant bedroom with walls covered in posters and pictures. 

“this is my room,” kate said with a dramatic arm sweep. then she sat eva on her bed and pointed to various images on her wall, telling the most random stories that still clearly meant the world. eva just sat back and watched, laughing, making small comments, kate was safe, and she was sharing her space with eva, and that just reminded her how lucky she was.

after a particularly funny story involving amélie the musical, a cat named pasco, and 6 and a half pizzas, kate asked, “want to go downstairs? there’s more stuff to do for the both of us,” 

“sure!” eva responded, and kate grabbed her hand. they walked down a tall staircase, and then another tall staircase, and they had reached her basement. eva marveled at the size of her house once again, because this basement didn’t have just one room, but multiple doors leading to others.

kate sits back on the couch in the middle of the room, and opens the ottoman to reveal stacks of video games, movies, and game controllers, “sit over here and help me decide what we’re doing,” and eva moved to help shuffle through the games. 

minutes later, in the middle of a conversation about why eva hates her english teacher, she noticed an extremely shiny case near the bottom of the stacks, and she picked it up.

“i know what we’re gonna play,” eva said smiling and handed it to kate for her to look at. 

kate smiled too, and said “you’ve got really good taste,” and turned on mario party. that made eva giggle, and after taking a look at kate’s confused face she said,

“well yeah, we’re dating aren’t we?” and that elicited another round of laughter from them both.

-

multiple hours, mario party rounds, and ridiculous statements later, eva thought about the immense safety and love she was feeling. it was different, but it made her incredibly happy. she set her controller down and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. her girlfriend, she liked saying that.

kate leaned into the embrace, “i was about to ask you, never mind, what’s up?” she asked.

“nothing, i’m just really happy,” and they stayed there for what felt like hours, if it had been, eva would’ve been fine with that, “wait,” she said, “what were you going to ask?”

“it would disturb the peace, but i was going to ask if you want to bake something? it’s kind of stupid, but baking is something i love, and i love you, so the two together make sense to me?” kate said, and that made eva hug her even tighter.

“oh my god,” she laughed, “that’s literally so sweet, hell yes we’re doing it, i can guess you already had something in mind?” and kate blushed.

“actually, yeah, would you want to make kourambiethes with me?” kate asked.

“i’m not sure what those are, but yes i want to bake with you,” eva said, and in response, kate sat up, grabbed her phone, and started scrolling through pictures. then, she landed on a picture of a giant table, covered in cookies, and the cookies were covered in powdered sugar.

“technically they’re holiday cookies, but they’re too good for me to follow those rules,” kate said, and then she took hold of eva’s hand and pulled her up and towards one of the doors.

“wait where are we going?” eva asked.

“basement kitchen,” kate responded, “this way my parents don’t have to look at the mess i make while baking, and they use it as a talking piece during parties,”

eva sat down on one of the kitchen island’s stools, and kate took a big book from one of the cabinets. before eva could ask, kate said “it’s my yiayia’s old recipe book, i don’t have the measurements memorized yet, so i need it,” then she flipped to a page with a bright blue post it note on it, and said, “can you read these out to me so i can get them?”

eva took kate’s spot at the island and read out the various ingredients while her girlfriend set them out, then she took out various bowls, and preheated the oven. kate slid the open book to the middle where eva leaned forward to look, “can you start while i finish taking stuff out?” kate asked.

while eva started to combine the ingredients, kate pressed play on her playlist, and what baking can do turned on, which made eva smile, “would it be obnoxious if i sang?” she asked

“that is exactly what this playlist is for,” kate said, and eva joined in with the song. 

eva had barely registered the song was over when she noticed two things: kate was staring at her, in awe, and the overmixed butter and sugar in her bowl. 

kate pressed pause, then said, “your voice is so beautiful,” and eva didn’t know how to respond. 

“thank you?” she said.

“were you going to tell me you’re good at everything or was i just supposed to witness it all myself?” kate asked, which made eva sigh dramatically.

“i’m not good at everything,” eva said, “i just had a very intense fascination with grease when i was younger and decided i needed to know how to sing,” 

kate smiled even more and said, “that’s the most casual explanation i’ve ever heard for you being the most talented person i know,”

“i just told you, i’m not good at everything, i literally just ruined the butter,” eva stated, which made kate laugh, and they corrected eva’s mistake, and pressed play on kate’s music again.

they started to incorporate other ingredients, and before eva realized it the cookies were already in the oven. the music kept going, and the girls went with it, spinning around and dancing in the kitchen. before the cookies were removed from the oven, kate got out the two bags of powdered sugar. 

“when i take the cookies out we cover them in sugar,” kate said seriously. she didn’t waste time after getting them out, rolling each one individually in the powdered sugar. “eva c’mere, i can’t do 40 cookies alone,”

eva walked to the island where she was methodically doing each cookie. “how many do you want me to do?” she asked.

kate stopped and pondered the question, “you can take these ten,” she said while pointing, and eva did as kate said.

eva learned very quickly that rolling warm cookies in powdered sugar was tougher than it looked, and kind of disastrous. she let go of a cookie too early, and the sugar it was dropped in clouded her face, which made her girlfriend laugh. in retaliation, eva tossed some towards her. 

kate took her powdery hands, and she poked eva in the sides, and yet again they were two giggling messes.

eventually, all of the cookies were finished and in their individual cups, so kate took one and handed it to eva. “these are really fuckingn good,” eva said, before kissing her on the cheek. 

“we should probably clean this up.” eva concluded, and they got to work wiping down the counters, shutting off the oven, and putting ingredients away. when kate went to put the unused bag of powdered sugar away, it dropped from her hand, and spilled on the floor.

her following reaction was one of pure horror, and rapid breaths followed. eva, worried, quietly stepped towards her, “what’s wrong?” she asked.

kate couldn’t give a clear answer, just stuttering and gesturing, so eva asked, “can i touch you?” and she shook her head no. adapting, eva said, “look at me, okay? you’re fine, i’m fine, we’re both okay. we’ll pick up the sugar, and it’ll be okay, okay?” and kate nodded.

eva guided her to sit down, where she sat there breathing heavily. weakly, kate asked “can i?” and reached her arms around eva. they stayed in that place for a while, eva holding her up, and kate crying quietly into her shoulder.

when kate was able to lift her head up she gave eva a small smile, and eva gave one back. she tried to stand up to fix the sugar disaster, but eva stopped her and said, “you need to sit down, i’ll get the sugar cleaned up,”

so kate sat on one of the stools while eva got rid of the sugar, and put the bag back in the cabinet. then, eva walked her out of the kitchen and to the couch, where she made kate sit down as she left the room. a small period of time later, eva came back with a glass of water, she handed it to kate, and pulled the blanket on the side of the couch over both of them.

kate switched on a movie, and they laid there.

“thank you,” kate said, “that was too nice of you,” and eva turned to her.

“it’s not ‘too nice’. i’m here to be nice to you, that’s my job as your girlfriend,” eva responded.

“you’re still too nice, and i can be a lot sometimes, and then i get angry, and frustrated, and i don’t want you to feel like you need to deal with me all the time just because we’re together,” kate said.

eva grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and said, “look at me. i’m not ‘dealing with you’, you’re not too much, and your emotions are all important. we’re gonna have bad days, and bad moments, and bad situations, but i’m going to help you through yours because we’re in this together,”

in response, kate kissed her. “i promise to help you through yours too,” she said, “i love you,”

and eva said, “i love you too”


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the second part, kate goes to a sleepover at eva’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for this chapter and any eva centric things i’ll write in the future: i project onto her, so she gets kind of unlucky when i write. knowing this, here are some trigger warnings for this chapter: mentioned child abuse, parental fighting, and an overall unsafe household.

kate was, to say the least, nervous. in their three months of dating, kate had never been to eva’s house. it was an uncomfortable topic for her girlfriend, so she didn’t press, but last weekend eva had suggested they hang out at her house, and for kate to sleep over, and she wasn’t going to object.

kate’s mom drove her past rows and rows of small, identical houses until she reached 1270, where she parked in front of it. she grabbed her bag, waved goodbye, and rang the doorbell, and then heard multiple loud noises from inside the house.

when the door opened there was a girl about her age standing behind it, who looked exactly like eva, but with long hair. she yelled, “eva! she’s here!” and kate heard even more loud noises. soon, she saw eva. after checking to make sure her mom had left, leaned in and hugged her.

“hi,” eva said, grinning, and kate smiled in response, and leaned back to take everything in. the girl next to eva tentatively held out her hand.

“i’m elena,” she said and didn’t elaborate, which kate found frustrating. eva seemed to pick up on this.

“elena is my twin sister,” eva said.

paying no more attention to kate, elena said to eva, “i’ll be heading out in like ten minutes, can you handle everyone tonight?”

eva laughed an almost sad laugh, “i think i’ve got it,” before turning to the noise behind her, coming from two girls in the hallway. “are you guys gonna say hi or just spy on us?”, and the two stepped out, embarrassed.

“do you want me to introduce you?” eva asked, and the older of the two girls steps forward, with confidence she didn’t have a second earlier.

“i’m maya, nice to meet you,” she said, “this is lily, she’s our little sister,” which makes the youngest girl fold her arms.

“hey! that’s mean! i’m not the youngest anymore,” lily says with a frown.

eva intervened, “we know lily, maya you should apologize,” which made maya frown too.

“yikes, sorry lil,” and lily clearly accepted this apology, latching herself onto maya’s leg.

eva took one look and grabbed kate by the hand to lead her away. they ended up in a room with a bunk bed and climbs up to the top. “c’mere,” she said and helped kate up the ladder. kate wrapped her arms around her and leaned into her shoulder.

“that was chaotic,” kate said, and eva sighed.

“that? was nothing. they can be a lot worse,” eva said, “after a competition one day they decided they needed to do one too,” and kate started laughing, “it ended up being them cartwheeling into walls, so performing in the house is banned now,”

there was a scream from another room, but kate could only make out the word eva. 

“here we go again,” eva muttered and started to climb down the ladder. “join me in dealing with my siblings?” she asked, and kate followed her.

eva crosses the hallway to a room with two beds, and maya and lily sitting at a small table, covered in paper scraps. “what’s going on guys?” eva asked, causing her sisters to point and yell. “can we stop and talk to each other?”

“she took my marker!” lily yelled

maya, frustrated, yelled back, “you weren’t using it, and the markers don’t belong to anyone!”

kate gave eva a small smile, and could remember a nearly identical situation from when she was younger. eva sighed and said “is there any way you can share the markers? or do you want me to get something else for you to draw with?”

when lily made multiple protests against the sharing of markers, eva gave maya a look that kate could only describe as, “you know what to do,” so maya stood up, opened a drawer, and took out a box of crayons.

both of them seemed content with this decision, so eva started walking back to her room, and kate followed.

“i’m so sorry about that,” eva said, while climbing back into her bed, “they don’t really listen when i tell them ‘we have someone over, stop fighting’”

kate thought about this, then asked, “where are your parents? why don’t they tell your sisters to stop?”

eva took a deep breath, “my mom locked herself in her room again, and my dad is,” she paused, searching for the right word, “out,” she said.

in response, kate gestured with her hands, and eva leaned into her embrace, “i’m so sorry,” kate said.

“it’s not that big of a deal,” eva said, “nothing elena and i can’t deal with,” she looked up at kate, “now that we’re here, and you brought your phone, can we watch the ben platt netflix special? i fell asleep last time,”

kate laughed, and agreed.

-

after multiple hours of netflix, a haphazard meal, and tons of cuddling, kate heard a door swing open, then slam shut. eva heard it too, and immediately sat up, “we need to get lily and maya in my room,” she said softly

as if maya had heard her, she appeared in the doorway, gently pushing lily past her. eva quietly instructed kate to bring blankets and pillows down to the floor. they all huddle together among the bedding, lily on eva’s lap, and kate centered her phone, which played a baking show

the screaming started while the contestants made a fruit pie, while her younger siblings are mesmerized, eva leaned behind them and whispered to kate, “we might need to leave soon, do you have your car?”

kate shook her head, and watched as eva adjusted the plan, “i’ll grab my mom’s car keys if things get worse, hopefully it doesn’t escalate anything, are you okay with that?”

before kate could agree, she heard a faint slam from another room, and eva stood up. her sisters followed her lead, each grabbing and rolling up a pillow and blanket, and holding onto it tightly while eva left the room.

maya dashed into her room as eva returned to hers, “what are you doing?” she whispers harshly, and maya walks back into the room holding a stuffed animal.

“i didn’t mean to do anything wrong, i just forgot him,” she said, and eva’s face softened. eva gave her sister a quick hug in apology, then gestured for the three of them to follow her. they managed to exit the sanchez house without loud noises, and all got into the car and drove off.

eva drove for multiple hours around the city, and eventually stopped at a park. “do you guys want to run around?” she asked, and her sisters unbuckled their seatbelts and sprinted for the playground.

kate and eva followed, but as made their way toward a bench near the playground, eva’s phone rang.

“hello?” eva said. kate could only make out a feminine voice, but it got louder and angrier the longer the two talked.

“i’m not coming back there until you and dad have stopped fighting,” eva said. 

oh, kate thought. it’s her mom.

her mom was practically screaming on the other end, “i paid for that phone, those driving lessons, that’s my fucking car, and you think you can drive off with it like you pay the bills? you need to bring your goddamn sisters back here, or else,”

“can you guarantee me that maya and lily won’t get hurt?” eva asked.

the other line was silent.

eva took a breath, moved the phone away from her ear, and hung up.

kate hugged her tightly and asked, “do you want to talk about it?”

“my parents can be… a lot, at times,” eva said

“how much is a lot?” kate asked before adding, “if you’re comfortable with telling me,”

“i’ve been parenting my sisters basically since leo left for college. my parents aren’t very good at actually being parents, and it’s been my job to take care of them, keep track of everything around the house, make money so that they can stay stable and that i can get out of there some day,” eva said

“what about elena?” kate asked, “is she any help?”

eva let out a small, sarcastic laugh, “she does help, but she’s been really good at getting out of it. it’s not her fault, i’m just so tired all the time,” she sniffled, “i’m always responsible for everything and it’s so overwhelming all of the time. i don’t understand how i’m still fucking holding it together at this point,”

“that sounds like way too fucking much for one person at once, i’m so sorry, i love you so much and i’m always here. i know most adults at school are terrible, but do you think you could ask for help from someone?” kate said.

“i don’t want to put my sisters in a worse situation, they deserve better than that,” eva said.

“you deserve better than this,” kate said, “you deserve so much more than being an adult as a teenager. you should be having a senior year, not worrying about your own safety,” and eva just squeezed her hand as a response.

they sat in near silence for a while, watching maya and lily on the swings.

“we’re in this together, just like you told me,” kate said, “i love you,”

“i love you too,” eva said.

“i think we should go to my house,” kate said, “it’s better than you having to go back there right now, and i highly doubt my parents would notice anyways.”

“we don’t need to-”

“yes we do,” kate interrupted, “we’re not going to spend a night in your car because your parents are assholes. we’ll go to the basement, get snacks, watch movies, it’ll be fun,”

“lily! maya! we’re getting back in the car!” eva shouted as they started the walk back.

“where are we going?” lily asked tiredly

“we’re going to my house,” kate said, and maya’s expression calmed.

they drove the miles to kate’s house and pulled into the driveway. lily’s eyes widened at the giant house in front of her.

“maya,” she said in a loud whisper, “it’s like a mansion!” in response, maya shushed her, and kate started laughing. 

kate said, “we need to be quiet so we don’t bother my parents, okay?”

by the time they got to kate’s basement, both lily and maya had expressed their fatigue.

“there are two bedrooms here,” kate pointed, “and here, if you want to go to sleep,”

kate watched from the other room as eva tucked her sisters into bed. however, she looked away once they started discussing something, it didn’t feel like a moment for her.

ten completed candy crush levels later, eva walked back into the main room, with puffy, faintly red eyes. she didn’t say anything, just situated herself underneath the large blanket kate was already under, put her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, grabbed her hand.

“thank you,” eva said, “you make me feel so happy, and worthy, and loved, and i really don’t deserve it, but thank you,”

“you do deserve it, aves. like i said earlier, you deserve so much more than this, an entire ocean’s worth of more.” kate said, then kissed eva’s cheek.

“i wish we could have our own bubble, where we could stay here forever, and i wouldn’t ever have to go home,” eva said.

kate smiled, “this is going to sound extremely sappy, but you are home. and maybe, sometime in a few years, we could have a real home, where we’re together and safe.”

eva’s eyes welled up, and she said, “i can’t put into words how much that, and you mean to me. i love you so much. so much.”

“can i kiss you?” kate asked, and eva nodded. it was brief, but they held onto each other for the rest of the night and into the morning. eventually asleep, yet dreaming of a future where they could be each other’s real, forever home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending dissolved into soft metaphors because eva deserves good things and i couldn’t write anymore angst
> 
> if you liked this feel free to check out my tumblr @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight ! or my instagram with the same name, even though it’s pretty inactive!

**Author's Note:**

> yay greek kate and talking about feelings!! 
> 
> if you liked this feel free to check out my tumblr @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight 
> 
> and come back for part two!!!


End file.
